Art and identity: Marburg University celebrates its anniversary with a new project!

Art and identity: Marburg University celebrates its anniversary with a new project!

An artistic project to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the University of Marburg began on June 26, 2025. Under the direction of the artists Helgard Haug and Daniel Wetzel from the theater label Rimini Protocol, the starting signal was given for a creative examination of the history and future of the university. The kick-off took place in the university's Landgrave's Palace and was accompanied by an inaugural lecture in the university library.

The main goal of the project is to develop an anniversary work of art that illuminates and perspectives the university in all its complexity. Rimini Protocol has specialized in placing the perspectives of everyday experts at the center of their work. This became particularly clear in the first town hall meeting, which was designed as a “blind date”.

The town hall meeting

At this first meeting, the participants, consisting of students, trainees, administrative staff, technicians, researchers, professors and the executive committee, searched for the “identity” of the university. In four sessions, Haug and Wetzel asked personal questions that were intended to encourage participants to reflect on their own experiences. Those present moved in the space between the poles “I” and “Not me”, which enabled a deeper examination of individual life paths and visions of the future.

One of the concerns was to bring up topics such as social commitment and personal experiences. An “open mic” at the end of the event allowed participants to ask their own questions, which promoted the culture of dialogue. Daniel Wetzel explained that no documentation of the results will be created as this is part of the nature of their research and the questions may still remain unanswered. This knowledge of uncertainty creates space for creative exploration.

Rimini protocol and its approach

Rimini Protocol, founded in 2000 by Helgard Haug, Stefan Kaegi and Daniel Wetzel, has set itself the goal of further developing the means of theater for unusual perspectives on reality. Her work includes theater, radio play, film and installation. They have been active under the name Rimini Protocol since 2002, and their projects are often multidimensional and interdisciplinary.

Previous awards include the Silver Lion at the 41st Venice Theater Biennale in 2011 and the Swiss Grand Prix Theater/Hans-Reinhart-Ring 2015. Their headquarters are in Berlin, where they continue to develop and implement innovative projects.

The anniversary team at the University of Marburg sees the town hall meeting as the first step in a creative process that not only aims to shed light on the university's past, but also opens up new perspectives and insights. Actively helping to shape participation is of central importance. In this way, the university is examined as a complex entity in order to further explore the questions about the jubilee, such as “Who or what is she?”

The upcoming project promises to look at the university as a whole, while focusing on dialogue between different perspectives. This project could not only redefine the identity of the university, but also expand the understanding of university culture in particular and social participation in general.